So, winding down in the Max Strength program, and today had me pulling sumo for the first time ever (175lb for singles). I wanted to do a quick form check to make sure I’m not doing something stupid. The angle isn’t spectacular (since you can’t see how far apart my feet are), but is there anything I should be keeping in mind next time I do these?
I feel like my hips are coming up a little fast, but later in my workout (I had to do 9 singles) a trainer came over and said I should keep my hips higher and have my back almost parallel to the ground. This seems to contradict everything I’ve read online, but I’d also like to get all of your opinions. Thanks!
Keep your butt from rising. Sumo is one big pelvic thrust. Practice with a light weight,…just take your grip, get set, and do nothing except push your hips forward.
The trainer is an idiot, I have seen where personal trainers teach girls to deadlift and do more like a straight leg DL, its a trick to stare at your ass.
Also, remember you do not have to look up. I have found in my coaching that may people bring there hips up too fast because they are focusing too much on looking up, instead of keeping a neutral spine and looking forward.
PM me if you have anymore questions.
I agree with everything LSUPOWERDC said. Tell that trainer to quit his/her day job (assuming it’s as a trainer). I must admit, though, that I do look up when I DL. It helps keep me from rounding my lower back.
kpsnap–you should use your lats to keep from rounding, the problem with dramatically looking up is that you can go from tightening your back to overly arching your back, it can also put alot of stress on your neck with heavy weight
Watch some big pullers…Belyaev, Konstantinov, Tuchscherer, or in yalls case look up julia/yulia zaugolova,…you will find there is a slight look up with the eyes, but not the whole head usually, and in many cases they look forward or down
Not really…are you pulling for fun or to compete. Yes the perfect pull sumo would be with toes completely pointing out all the way, then the bar would never be in front of you. But the optimum angles for your feet and your thighs are around 45 degrees(some people go too far down), but you may have to play with it abit to see what works best.
Pause your video at 15 seconds and you will see the things you should work on, butt is up and back is starting to arch
Pulling for fun and because I want to get stronger, mostly, although I’d love to compete in the future. I’ll play around with the foot angle and see what works. I feel like I have more potential with sumo than I do pulling conventional, but I really need to get used to the technique first.
If I may add a bit…I think you could start with your shoulders over the bar a little more. It will put your hips slightly higher in the beginning but you will be in a better position over all. Try to keep the force through your whole foot…Your toes should be free but all the pressure should be distributed through the entire foot and not just the heel. All the other stuff that everybody else said sounded great. Hope this helps.